"The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism — ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. ”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

This is ridiculous..

Stop what you're doing, and go over to GRAND DIVISIONS for a moment and read what happened in Committee today to HB0187 by our own Jeanne Richardson. It's a bill that would help transgender Tennesseans to amend their birth certificates to reflect their change of gender. Sounds simple enough, right?

Go read, I'll wait.

OK then. As Rep. Richardson was not a member of the committee, she could not move passage of the bill, which was given an actual fair hearing by chairman Matthew Hill (R-Jonesborough). Mike Turner, our Democratic Caucus Chair, moved passage of the bill.

One problem: NO ONE would second the passage. NO Republicans (not surprising), but NO DEMOCRATS DID EITHER. Why not? WTF??? The other Democrats on that subcommittee are all from URBAN areas except for David Shepard of Dickson. The urban Democrats are Gary Odom and Mary Pruitt of Nashville, Joe Armstrong of Knoxville, and Joanne Favors of Chattanooga.

Now, to be truthful, I am not sure which of those members attended this meeting and which did not. I am more than willing to bet, however, that ALL of them (save Shepard, of course) have received help in some form or fashion from the LGBT communities in their cities. If they couldn't be there, well, not much you can say. But if any of them WERE there and refused to second the bill, then a pox on their house (s).

Right now, folks, I hate to ever call out a Democrat in this state because we are under siege. But precisely BECAUSE we are under siege is why EVERY DEMOCRAT needs to stand up for their friends, and the LGBT community is one of our biggest friends. Hell, Mike Turner represents a far more conservative district than any of the others listed above (again, except Shepard), and HE STOOD UP AND LED by moving passage of the bill.

Folks, LGBT rights are HUMAN RIGHTS, and either you are for them or you aren't. I expect the GOP to vote against HUMAN RIGHTS, but I expect EVERY DEMOCRAT to support them.